Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Public Libraries: Finance

lord bird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to deliver a properly funded and sustainable future for libraries.

lord ashton of hyde: Local authorities in England have a statutory duty to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service, and it is for individual local authorities to decide how to use their funds, including how best to provide a public library service that meets local needs within available resources. DCMS works across central and local government to encourage investment in libraries to ensure they can continue to support delivery of local and national priorities and needs.DCMS and the Local Government Association established the Libraries Taskforce, which works to promote good practice and innovation to assist library services and enable them to be sustainable for the long term. DCMS provides funding to Arts Council England, as the development agency for libraries; ACE is funding seven libraries organisations in its National Portfolio for 2018 to 2022 at a total annual spend of £1.6 million, including Libraries Connected as a sector support organisation for libraries.DCMS has also provided direct funding support for library services in England, including a £2.6 million programme to support the installation or upgrade of wifi in public libraries in England, and the £3.9m Libraries: Opportunities for Everyone fund, to support innovative library service activity in 2017/18 to benefit disadvantaged people and places in England.

Listed Events

lord grocott: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish the current sporting occasions which are classified as listed events for media coverage.

lord ashton of hyde: The Broadcasting Act 1996 (as amended) gives the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport the power to designate key sporting and other events as “listed events”, to ensure that such events are made available to all television viewers, particularly those who do not have subscription television. Ofcom publishes this list in its code of listed events, which I attach: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0029/35948/ofcom_code_on_sport.pdf 



OFCOM code on Sport 
(PDF Document, 71.16 KB)

Salisbury Museum: Heritage Lottery Fund

lord lexden: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to assist Salisbury Museum in its bid for a Heritage Lottery Fund grant by making a donation from money made available to Salisbury by the Ministerial Recovery Group.

lord ashton of hyde: The Ministerial Recovery Group has to date agreed £7.5 million of government funding to support businesses, boost tourism, and meet unexpected costs as a result of the incidents in Salisbury and Amesbury. The Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport have made no plans to allocate part of this funding directly to Salisbury Museum, but the museum will benefit indirectly through the promotion of the city and its cultural attractions.Heritage Lottery Fund trustees make grant decisions independently from Government and it would be inappropriate to support specific applications to HLF. The Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport will support and advise Wiltshire Council in any proposals they have to bolster their cultural and heritage offering.

Public Libraries

the marquess of lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many public libraries have closed since 2010; what action they have taken to ensure that all the services previously provided by those public libraries are provided by other organisations; and whatassessment they have made of the national research project conducted by SERIO to explore the service effectiveness and sustainability of community-managed libraries in Englandthe results of which were published on 5 September 2017.

lord ashton of hyde: The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport monitors proposed changes to library service provision throughout England, but does not hold complete figures on the number of public libraries closed from 2010 to date. Local authorities in England have a statutory duty to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service, and it is for individual local authorities to decide how best to provide a public library service that meets local needs within available resources. However, DCMS works with the Libraries Taskforce and local and central government to promote good practice and innovation to sustain and improve library services in England. In 2017, DCMS and the Libraries Taskforce commissioned research by SERIO about how community managed libraries in England operate, and lessons that can be learnt and shared about their effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability. Following consideration of the report and its recommendations, DCMS and the Libraries Taskforce has improved and strengthened information and guidance on community managed libraries. For example, updating the Taskforce’s Community Managed Libraries toolkit for those running or considering establishing community libraries. DCMS and the Libraries Taskforce has also worked with partners to help community managed libraries to set up a peer network, to build closer links and to share learning and support between themselves.

Ministry of Justice

National Exhibition Centre

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what contact they have had, if any, with the Birmingham Coroner to establish what is known about the origins of the 20 skinless human bodies being exhibited at the National Exhibition Centre; and whether inquests will be opened to establish the facts involved in their deaths.

lord keen of elie: Coroners are independent judicial office holders and as such it would be inappropriate for Ministers to intervene in or comment upon the decisions of the Birmingham and Solihull Senior Coroner.The exhibition at the National Exhibition Centre has been licenced by the Human Tissue Authority in line with the provisions of the Human Tissue Act 2004. Responsibility for hosting the exhibition and maintaining ethical standards lies with the National Exhibition Centre.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

National Exhibition Centre

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have caused inquiries to be made about the origins of the 20 unidentified skinless human bodies in an exhibition at the National Exhibition Centre and the circumstances in which these people died; what assurance they have that they are not cadavers of disappeared Chinese political and religious prisoners; and whether they are arranging for the bodies to be examined to see whether there is any remaining evidence of the removal of organs.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: We have no evidence to suggest that the ‘Real Bodies’ exhibition at the National Exhibition Centre contains cadavers of Chinese political or religious prisoners. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not been approached by any UK government department to make formal representations to the Chinese authorities.

Gulf States: Overseas Aid

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the current involvement, if any, of the National Security Council in the Gulf Strategy Integrated Activity Fund.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​The National Security Council is responsible for agreeing the Gulf Strategy, which guides Integrated Activity Fund priorities.

Abduljalil Abdulla al-Singace

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 4 July (HL8871), why they will not disclose the exact date in which they last discussed the case of inmate Dr Abduljalil Al-Singace with authorities in Bahrain.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: Our Embassy in Bahrain and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office continue to monitor the case of Dr Al-Singace and have raised it with the Government of Bahrain at senior levels. We do not believe it is appropriate to disclose details of discussions on individual cases.

Hajer Mansoor Hassan

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Bahrain in relation to the failure of their oversight bodies to conduct swift investigations into the case of female political prisoner Hajer Mansoor Hassan.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: Our Embassy in Bahrain and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office continue to monitor the case of Mrs Mansoor. We have raised the case at senior levels with the Government of Bahrain.We understand family members of Mrs Mansoor have been in direct contact with the oversight bodies. The UK continues to urge the oversight bodies in Bahrain to carry out thorough and swift investigations into any claims of mistreatment or other concerns about treatment in detention.

Gaza: Humanitarian Aid

lord ahmed: To ask Her Majesty's Government what support is available to any British citizen aboard the Freedom Flotilla.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​The Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises British nationals against all travel to Gaza and is unable to provide routine consular assistance. Any British nationals in Gaza who do require emergency assistance should contact the British Consulate General in Jerusalem.

India: Nationality

the lord bishop of st albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of India regarding reports that many Bengali-Muslim's in Assam State may lose their status as citizens of India.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​Our Deputy High Commission in Kolkata is closely monitoring the updating of the National Register of Citizens in Assam. The British High Commission in New Delhi and our network of posts across India maintain a continuous assessment of human rights, including those of religious minorities. This includes raising issues with Indian officials where appropriate. We engage directly with minority representatives and recently met with officials from the Indian Government's National Commission for Minorities.